Just This Sunday
by The Hearts Of The Tardis
Summary: "Clara's lips turned into an amused smile, because The Doctor flirting always proved that the word subtle barely graced his vocabulary."/ Or when The Doctor decides to materialize on a Sunday... While Clara is babysitting.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello lovelies! This is my first Doctor Who fanfiction (Besides the one I'm cowriting with my friend over on her account titled "The Roommate Who Waited", but, I digress) This will be a threeshot I believe! **

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><p><strong>Just This Sunday<strong>

Clara slipped on an ebony sweater over top of her low cut red top. She admired herself in the mirror for a bit, making sure she looked presentable enough for work. She gave her dark brown hair a few run throughs with a brush.

She was babysitting. Artie and Angie were out at friend's houses, and their dad was going out with a couple he was friends with. The couple was dropping off their toddlers, which consisted of Emily, a six year old girl, and Oliver, a five year old boy. Clara had met them a few times before when they were over at the Maitland's house, and overall they seemed like good kids.

Right on schedule, she heard a ring at the doorbell. She got up and quickly hopped down the flight of stairs to the front door. The bell rang again with impatience, and she couldn't help her face wrinkle in slight irritance.

"I'm coming!" She shouted in assurance, finishing the last few steps and grasping the doorknob. She opened the door without second thought, smiling at the parents of her new babysitting clients.

As the door opened, the sight that that awaited her wiped the smile off of her face. There was the Doctor, straightening his bow tie, goofy grin, floppy hair and all.

"Hello Clara, why the long face? I mean metaphorically long although that expression really doesn't make any sense. You look confused, is there something in my teeth?" The Doctor rambled, striding into the house, completely uninvited.

"It's… It's not Wednesday Doctor…" Clara said, lowering an eyebrow. Her voice wavered between confusion with slight annoyance.

"It's not? Because when I landed I was sure I was getting a Wednesday-ey vibe, it feels like a Wednesday!" Clara hid an internal smirk as The Doctor flailed his arms around as he spoke.

"Well it's not! It's Sunday and I'm busy!" Clara said defiantly. The Doctor's face saddened with rejection.

"Busy with what!? Ooh I've always wanted to see what you're busy with on Not-Wednesdays! Must be interesting! You are interesting Clara Oswald!" He exclaimed, patting her on the head. She tried to hide a small blush that came from the compliment, and his various cute mannerisms. "But technically I see you on Not-Wednesdays all the time since I always try to land on Saturdays! Saturdays are good days, you said it's Sunday, that's rubbish. I don't like Sundays they're all churchy and boring! Not to mention the apparent lack of alien attacks. Why don't aliens attack on Sundays?"

Clara gave a faux knowing smile and a short nod before remembering why she had answered the door with such ease… She had thought he was her babysitting clients… _Oh God… _She realized, shutting the door behind the Doctor quickly.

"Doctor you need to leave!" Clara ordered, shuddering at the thought of watching the Doctor _and _two toddlers. "I'm really really busy and I need you to get back into your box and materialize on next _Wednesday_." She placed a hand on his shoulders to push him towards the door.

"Oh wait Clara, were you doing something upstairs?" The Doctor realized.

Clara shrugged, willing to accept any sort of alibi that would get him to go "...Sure, and you're not invited!"

"Ohhh I see… Are you certain?" The Doctor asked clasping his hands together awkwardly.

"Yes." The Doctor's smile drooped with disappointment

"Well you… Have fun," The Doctor said, adding in a little wink, putting his hand on the door knob.

"Have fun? Have fun with what?" Clara said confused, her voice rising an octave.

"I don't know him, her, whoever's up there," The Doctor grinned suggestively.

"No no Doctor oh my God not that sort of thing! I'm babysitting!" Clara shouted, her face flushed. She noticed The Doctor's face relax with slight relief, and smirked. "You asked to join, I said no, and you thought I was…Is there an underlying message here I should be picking up on?"

Avoiding her question, the Doctor raised his arms, completely thrilled. "Babysitting!" The Doctor exclaimed enthusiastically. "I would love to help you babysit, I'm absolutely amazing with small children!"

Clara groaned, this being exactly what she had been trying to avoid. Her fear was only heightened as she heard a sharp knock on the door. Her eyes widened, unsure of what to do.

"Doctor, hide," She hissed, combing through a lock of hair with her hand nervously. She twisted the door knob, faking a bright smile.

On the other side of the door stood Mr. Maitland, his two friends, along with the two small children. Mr. Maitland had gone to go pick them up as their car had been having some sort of issue.

"Hello Clara," Mr. Maitland greeted kindly. "May I introduce you to Mr and Mrs. Morris."

"Hello, I'm Clara Oswald, nice to meet you" Clara said politely, shaking an outstretched hand of both members of the couple.

"Hello Clara.. Err, may I ask who that man behind you is?" Mrs. Morris asked, her voice troubled.

Clara blushed, turning to see The Doctor behind her. His hands were stretching out his mouth into a ridiculous grin, and his eyes were bugging out of his head. Clara stifled a giggle as he continued to make silly faces at the two kids, who reciprocated the gesture.

"I'm Clara's gentleman friend!" The Doctor said, with excitement that just made everything even more awkward. Clara shot the Doctor a glare that clearly said "Shut up".

"That's The Doctor…He was just over here helping me to fix the internet, but he'll be going soon," Clara reassured the parents.

The Doctor's face dropped into a pout.

"He's good with kid's though, if you'd feel comfortable letting him stay," Clara hinted a bit, beginning to feel slightly guilty for shooing The Doctor away.

"As long as you trust him," Mr. Morris said, turning to his wife, who nodded. They turned to the young ones, giving both a kiss on their raven colored hair. "You two won't be any trouble right?"

"Emily and Oliver? Trouble? I doubt it," Clara responded in agreement.

"It's Em," Emily corrected with an aura of rudeness. Her parent's flattened their mouths, a bit embarrassed.

"Em, of course," Clara corrected herself.

"We'll be back before you know it! Love you!"

The door shut with a loud thud, leaving behind both the kids. Emily was a bit tall for a six year old, with long inky black hair that went well past her shoulders. She was smiling cutely, leaving Clara optimistic about the afternoon.

Oliver on the other hand, was extremely small, his face saddened by his parents absence. His round brown eyes were moistened as he stared longingly out the window.

"Well that's rubbish," The Doctor said harshly, worrying Clara for just a moment. His tone shifted into a softer one as he bent over so his eyes could meet Oliver's teary ones. "They'll be back soon, and they left you with the nicest most bestest babysitter in the whole wide universe… And I would know- I've been round there a whole lot."

Clara stifled the smile creeping upon her lips, watching The Doctor wipe away a tear of Oliver's cheek sweetly. Maybe the Doctor was right(She internally slapped herself for even thinking that-as if The Doctor needed yet another ego boost), but maybe he was absolutely amazing with small children.

"Now come on kids, I propose a game of football! Clara's the goal, whoever kicks the football and hits her feet ten times without knocking over anything fragile or some sort of precious family heirloom wins the game!" Clara instantly took back every single good word about the Doctor her mind had just uttered as he somehow squeezed a mildly deflated football out the pocket of his jacket.

"Whoa," Em gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "How'd that fit in there!?"

"Bigger on the inside pockets! Cool trick eh!?" . The Doctor tossed the football from one hand to the other. "On the count of three kids! Clara's the goal remember! One! Two! Thr-"

"Doctor how on Earth would playing indoor football with two very small children _ever _strike you as a good plan!?" Clara protested rationally as the football was dropped to the floor. Her babysitting charges giggled at her flustered attempt to stop the game in progress. Their small legs hit the ball at full force in the vague direction of Clara, missing completely and hitting the edge of the couch behind her.

"I don't make plans Clara!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Hey Oli I'm open! Oi! Pass to me! Pass to me!" He waved his arms excitedly, knocking a picture frame off the pristine white painted mantle.

Clara's heart skipped a beat out of fear as she lept forward to catch the falling framed photo. It was of the Maitland's mother. She felt the air she had unconsciously been holding in escape her in a long exhale when the frame was safe in her arms.

A football bounced off her ankle as the two kids conspired against her, counting who had scored more goals. She placed the photo back on the mantle before turning with her arms crossed.

"Doctor I would say that most definitely counts as a precious family heirloom, you broke game rules, isn't that right kids?" She turned to Em and Oliver, completely willing to nod their heads at anything that stirred up oh-so-hilarious drama, smiling with baby-tooth filled grins. "I think that makes you the goal now doesn't it?" The Doctor raised what would be his eyebrows, seeings immediately where this was going.

"I really don't think it does Clara Oswald," He challenged.

She shrugged. "Well I guess you forfeit then," She lifted the football from the ground, opening the door for a few moments to toss it outside. "Sorry kids, but we're just gonna have to find a new game."

"But that game was fun!" Em complained, her voice squeaking. "Mom only lets us play imaginative games inside, nothing real!"

This time it was Clara's turn to bend down to be at a more equal height. She flashed the children a secretive smirk. "But Em, Ollie, imaginative games are the best games! You can be anyone you want to be, anywhere in time and space! And I'll let you in on a secret."

She motioned for them to come closer, and leaned in to whisper. "Kids your age have the special magical power of imagining that people my age don't have. The only way for me to travel in time and space is to truly do it, or read a book about it… But you two… At your age, you can just close your eyes," Clara shut her eyes tightly for a moment so that the kids would follow suit. "Think of anyone, anywhere…" Clara's eyes widened for just a moment when she saw the Doctor sneaking up behind the two kids with a small circular patch on one finger of each hand. He held a finger to his lips, urging her to continue with his eyes.

"And just… Be there."

At that precise moment, The Doctor stuck the patches carefully to the backs of the children's necks, touching both of them with one arm and reaching out for Clara with the other. He couldn't help but grin mischievously at her as her eyes dropped shut.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading all of this! I'll update as soon as I can! I love you all! Please review and give feedback, as I've never really written these characters before! Reviewers get a sneak Peek of the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to BowtiesSouffles for reviewing!**

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><p>Clara opened her eyes, slightly dazed. The world around her was blurry to begin with before slowing coming into view.<p>

"Where the Hell am I?" She asked, completely confused. "I was just in the living room… Doctor?! What did you do?!"

"Language Clara! The kids!" The Doctor reminded her.

The landscape around her finally registered. There were leaves everywhere, and soft dirt beneath Clara's bare toes. The intense cawing of birds began to register in her ears. Clara looked around frantically.

"Doctor! Where are the kids!? How could we have lost them!?" Her heart rate sped up, her body wracking itself with nerves.

The Doctor pointed wordlessly up high. Clara followed his finger to the top of a high tree branch, where Em and Oliver were crouched it. They were dressed in tan explorer jackets and helmets, and seemed to be having a very in depth conversation with a tree frog.

"The patches I put on them… They're these sleep patch things. It put them in a dream state. We're really all in the living room…" The Doctor paused. "Basically, welcome to the imagination of a five and six year old Ms. Oswald. "

Clara beamed, taking a look around her once more, realizing just how colorful everything really was… The flowers blooming around her smelled suspiciously like cotton candy, and there were absolutely no insects. Each bird she saw flying overhead had majestic rainbow colored feathers, and adorable fluffy mice scurried across the tree trunks with little to fear.

"It's beautiful," She whispered quietly, realizing the Doctor had already run ahead to meet the children. She followed ecstatically, her chocolate colored hair billowing behind her in the warm wind.

"Shhh Clara," Em cried, as Clara approached her. "You have to be quiet! Mr. Tree Frog is telling us a very important story right now!" Clara nodded apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, please continue Mr. Tree Frog," She offered the frog a slight curtsy from the ground beneath the tree.

"You see what's covering the sky?" The frog said, his voice grave and urgent. The kids looked up, their round eyes processing the sight fast before looking back down.

"There's just leaves," They realized. "Leaves and pretty birds."

"The forest… It might lose it's pretty birds… All The color is being drained from it! All the beautiful flowers wilting away! You see, we need the sun to replenish our color supply, but the sun is being blocked out by the canopy of green leaves... That green will soon be all that's left."

Em and Oliver gasped in ultimate horror. "That's so sad Mr. Tree Frog!" Oliver cried.

"Good thing we're here!" Em exclaimed, shooting a grin at her brother. " Don't you worryy Mr. Tree Frog we can fix everything! All we have to do is figure out what is making the leaves grow so much!"

The frog told them they didn't have much time, and bid them farewell. The children hopped down from the tree to join Clara and The Doctor on the ground, ready to begin their expedition.

"I've scanned the area with my Sonic Screwdriver," The Doctor announced.

"What's that!?" Em wondered, pointing to the screwdriver illuminating with green light. The Doctor tossed it to her casually.

"It's a tool I use to help people," He explained casually. "It's vastly complicated and it told me that this forest is a circle. I'd say if we want to find out what's causing the leaves to grow in such a way that they're blocking out the color, than we should head to the edge of the forest and look from there."

"But that's just stupid," Em replied rudely, tossing the Sonic over her shoulder. She nudged her brother. "Right Ollie? 'Cause if we want to figure out how to stop the leaves from growing we need to figure out why. And why would someone want to enclose an entire rainforest?"

Em paused to catch her breath, thinking her own question over.

"To make a cage!" Oliver exclaimed with realization. Em nodded excitedly.

"Yes! Yes to catch the birds obviously! The beautiful rainbow birds! And the only animal who dares to eat the pretty kings and queens of the forest, is the evil, grumpy Alligator!" Em crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly.

"It's their imagination, we're never going to be of much use in here," The Doctor muttered to Clara.

"Bet you're not accustomed to that," She mused in reply.

"So where does the alligator live?" The Doctor questioned curiously, pointing in all different directions.

"Where do you think he lives, stupid?" Em insulted, combing her fingers through her long hair superiorly. The Doctor straightened his bow tie, slightly insulted. "You scanned this forest, you should know that there's only one river in it that crosses through the circle. He's obviously somewhere in there… Just biding his time… Waiting for the perfect moment to SNAP!" She snuck up behind her brother, grabbing by the shoulders suddenly as she finished her sentence. Olli squealed in surprise.

"Than what are we waiting for?" Clara said with a smile. "Let's catch us an alligator!"

The group followed Em's lead through the brambles, the forest growing darker and darker with each few steps they made.

"Clara wasn't your undershirt red?" The Doctor wondered, pointing to Clara's black undershirt. Clara looked down, puzzled.

"I swear it was," she agreed.

"Red is the first color of the rainbow," Oliver stated. "I guess it's the first to go."

Clara felt her feet turn cold, wrinkling her face at the sensation of water surrounding them.

"We've bit the river!" Em exclaimed. She stretched up to her tip toes, leaping upwards to grasp a branch hanging down from above. Using all her strength, her miniature muscles worked to pull herself upwards. "Grab on to my foot Oli!"

"Are you doing what you did on our last adventure Em!?" Oli groaned, grabbing her ankles obediently. Emily shrugged, sporting a teasing smirk.

"You'll live Oli- come on help me swing out!"

Oliver commenced swinging back and forth, and Em as well. Using the momentum accumulated, Emily propelled her arms arose the branch until they were hanging directly over the middle of the lake.

"Should we intervene Doctor?" Clara wondered, but The Doctor shook his head.

"They seem to know what they're doing. They've definitely played pretend before!

"Hey Clara!" Em called. "Grab that vine hanging by the tree! And tie it in like... A circle shape! And doctor, do the same with that other vine, but make a bigger circle!"

"Of course Em!" Clara grabbed hold of a thick dark green vine. The doctor handed her a pocket knife from his pocket so she could shave a bit of the vine off to make parts of it thinner for a stronger knot. Soon, she had created a dog collar sized rope circle tied of with a knot. The Doctor followed her lead.

Emily began shaking her feet rapidly, her brother's grasp slipping along with his will to hold on. He went toppling down into the lake, a loud crashing sound following, ripples flowing through the icy water.

"AHHHH!" Oli screamed, the water freezing due to the lack of sun. His entire body felt numb. Working through the pain, he fumbled into his explorer vest, finding his desired small packet. Using all the strength he could muster, he ripped the packet open using his teeth, tasting iron and salt. The water around him began filling with dark clouds of red.

"Emily I felt it's tail! Emily get back here! Em!"

"Throw me the vines Clara!" Emily shouted, grasping the vines gratefully seconds after Clara heard her. Emily lept off the tree branch, ropes in hand.

Em gasped as her body came in contact with the rigid water. She could feel the scaly alligator approaching, lapping at their packet of animal blood. Wasting little time, she dove into the water, the alligators jaws snapping at her, narrowly missing her shoulder. She slid the vine lasso across his neck, trapping him.

"Doctor, Clara, each grab a vine and pull!" Oli instructed frantically, worried for the safety of his beloved sister.

The Doctor and Clara complied with little question, yanking at their end of the vines with full force. Droplets of water sprayed from the lake, Clara squeezing her eyes shut in defense. The kids emerged from the end of one vine, coughing and sputtering up water. Though their physical state looked rattled, emotionally, they radiated pride.

On the other vine, a very perturbed alligator hung from his neck. The Doctor, quick on his feet, yanked his vine a good eight feet away from Clara, separating the snapping alligator away from the two children.

"How are you making the leaves grow so much!?" Oli accused, letting go of the vine, landing on the ground with one foot, his other knee slapping the grass, accumulating dirt on his pants.

The alligator made strangled noises from his throat, his olive snout turning an even more unpleasant green.

"Lower him Clara! Lower him!" The Doctor shouted, worry coating his tone. Clara's smile flipped as she frantically pulled down the vine the alligator was hanging from, dodging the snaps of his toothy mouth. A tooth grazed her clothes arm, tearing the fabric of her sweater.

The alligator, still unable to escape, was visibly less troubled once his claws felt the soil. His throat was finally free of the strain of the rope; he could speak.

Em dropped down to the ground, joining Oli at Clara's side.

"What ever do you mean, the leaves?" The alligator inquired, his voice oozing slyness. As he spoke, The Doctor stopped in his tracks, puzzled. He thought for a moment, calculating what he had just seen.

"Children, Clara, I noticed something, I just... Look around, do you see that?"

"The orange has gone black," Clara realized, biting her lip, pointing to the birds flying overhead.

"And the yellow!" Em gasped.

"Not long now," the alligator sneered, his toothy grin becoming even more eerie as his green coloring faded to black. "Ha! You should see your faces, so terrified. But you're much much too late, you see, my plan has long been set in motion."

"What did you do!?" Em pestered. She looked up at the birds, frantically trying to gnaw their way out of the canopy of leaves, still rapidly growing into a thick netting .

"Oh nothing really, I just inserted a parasite into the bases of the trees. A parasite that I found at the very bottom of the lakes, a dying race, who feed on sunlight. The parasites have an enzyme inside them that causes an overgrowth of leaves, so they can sit atop them and collect all the sunlight for themselves! And these parasites, they're nearly invulnerable; fireproof, waterproof, all they need is sun. Meanwhile me and my brothers and sisters can feast here on the surface, on the trapped, powerless animals, our night vision finally coming to use!"

"Oh if only the ends tied up this neatly in reality," The Doctor mused with a smile. "If only all the foes I faced were complete idiots like you," he tapped the gators nose, aggravating the animal, who tried and failed to bite off his finger.

"The Doctor's right though!" Em realized. "You are an idiot!" She giggled. "Because you know what isn't fireproof?" Em grasped Oli's hand, catching a box The Doctor threw towards her.

"Leaves."

Em's foot hit the bark of a tree, using every muscle inside her to scale her way up the tree, bouncing up branches and swinging from vines. Oliver followed loosely behind at about a ten second delay.

In no time at all(because time works funnily in the imagination of a child) Clara and The Doctor had to crane their necks for Em and Oli to be in their line of vision.

Em reached the top and whipped a match out of the box, she struck it against the box and it lit on the first try. Her hand raised up, touching the match to the canopy of leaves, which caught flame immediately.

As the flames illuminated the leaves, disgusting grey worms were revealed to be resting on top of them. The worms wriggled in fear as they began the long journey down.

Emily and Oliver followed suit, climbing down with precision. Emily took out a phone from her explorer jacket.

"I have to alert the rainforest rangers," she said matter of factly. "They'll put out the fire once it finished it's job. And as for you Mr. Alligator, you're coming with us!" She pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

As Em spoke, Clara heard the growl of Oliver's stomach. The alligator was cuffed and ready to be carted off to jail. "Maybe this is a good place to leave things you guys? I think we could all use something to eat now, maybe it's time to stop imagining." She looked curiously at the Doctor, wondering how that was even possible.

"But we've been having so much fun Clara! I didn't know imagining could be this fun!" Em exclaimed.

"But I am a bit hungry," Oliver said, biting his lip in contemplation.

Bright lights amplified momentary pain within Clara's sleepy eyes, as she stretched them open. She saw The Doctor, very much awake, and Em and Oli still asleep on the living room floor.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Reviewers get a sneak peek of the nest chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/B: Thanks to ForeverTangledOver for reviewing! This is the final chapter unless Y'all really want me to continue.**

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><p>"They should awaken momentarily," The Doctor told her. He sported a goofy grin on his large chinned face. "Wasn't that fun?"<p>

"It made me wish it were Wednesday," Clara hinted. "And wish that I had you when I was younger to pretend with. Would've been easier to be happy."

"Was that all a dream?" Oliver asked groggily, stretching his arms as he rose from the floor.

"You were in a dreaming Oli, but so was everyone else… We all just imagined an adventure together!" Clara explained simply.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Em exclaimed, any residual tiredness gone. She skipped around the room for a few moments, her bounce alluding to her overall excitement. Her feet halted when she reached Clara, her puppy like brown eyes staring up at Clara.

"What are we eating for dinner?" Em wondered.

"Can we have spaghetti pleaseeee!" Oli begged, dropping to his knees dramatically.

"He's in some new weird phase where that's all he eats," Em rolled her eyes.

"I vote fish fingers and custard!" The Doctor requested, raising a hand above his head.

Oliver and Em stuck their tongues out in utter disgust. "Ew! Fish smells like throw up!" Oli complained.

"It's actually a lot more appetizing than it sounds," Clara mused, heading towards the kitchen to commence cooking.

"What do you mean more appetizing than it sounds!? It sounds amazing and tastes it!" The Doctor countered, pulling at the edges of his jacket and straightening his person to show his pride.

"Doctor could you set them up with the ipad and some film they like so they're busy while we cook?" Clara pointed the the ipad lying unused on the kitchen table.

After only a few moments of fiddling(And a fair amount of The Doctor muttering _Damn this simple twenty first century technology _under his breath), Oli and Em were entertained by some educational video babysitter show that they both liked.

The Doctor ran his hands under the hot water, getting caught up in the pleasant feeling of the streaming water warming his flesh.

"Doctor quit it you don't need that much water to wash your hands! Save some for the pasta!" Clara directed, twisting the nozzle for the water into the off position.

"Nag nag nag, would it kill you Clara, to take a deep breath, and just relax for one moment?"

"No it wouldn't kill me, but it would most certainly kill you. If I didn't nag you wouldn't ever do anything!" Clara grabbed a large pot from underneath the sink in the cupboard. She steadied the pot below the faucet, allowing water to stream into it.

A wistful smile graced The Doctor's face for a moment as he weighed the truthfulness of Clara's words. He remembered the Clara he met in Victorian London… The woman who finally got him the get up and _do something_…

His eyes flashed to the Clara nearby, the image of Clara Oswin Oswald in his mind showing absolutely no differences. His head shook subtly at the confusing thought… _How could they be the same? _

He put these thoughts aside when Clara's features turned perplexed at his pause. "Never knew you to be sensitive," She said. "It was just me being funny."

"Oh what I wouldn't do without you Clara," The Doctor recovered from his moment of falter in an optimistic tone. Clara beamed at him.

"Go play hide and seek with Em and Oli, I'll keep an eye on the pasta," Clara offered. Her eyes rolled at the way The Doctor skipped out of the kitchen excitedly.

Not too long later The Doctor was in the kitchen attempting the squeeze inside his coat pocket. He had the tip of his shoe stuck inside the dark fabric of his pocket, his face contorting as he inched his toes along the inside of the pocket lining, trying as hard as he could not the rip the seams.

"Doctor you've hidden time after time from dangerous aliens, I think you can handle two toddlers," Clara mused.

"Shhhh!" The Doctor shushed, getting one shoe in his pocket successfully. "They would never find me in here!"

Clara shook her head. Her eyes picked up the sound of water bubbling over the top of the pot. She spun around to face the pot, seeing water and bubbles pouring down the sides of the pot in a torrential downpour.

"Never turn your back on a boiling pot of water," The Doctor chided. "Let that be a lesson for you Clara."

Oli and Em entered the room upon hearing The Doctor's voice at it's full volume. They stifled giggles.

"Clara made a mess! Clara made a mess!" Oli ane Em shouted in sing song voices, pointing out the waterslide of boiling water Clara was staring at, unsure about how to clean it up.

"Yup," Clara agreed, glancing from the mad looking Doctor, attempting to squeeze his pocket around his knee, to the hungry small children, all riled up from excitement. Above all that, she heard a knock at the door. She sucked in a breath of air. "Definitely… Clara did make a mess."

"Doctor!" She scolded, ripping his jacket off his leg. "Put this on, Sonic that mess away of something alright! And cook the pasta!" The Doctor glared at her for resetting all of his hard work, but he did as he was told.

Clara rushed to the front door, the young ones following close behind, standing on the tips of their toes to get a glimpse out the window. Clara breathed a sigh of relief when it was only a postman with a package to sign for. She was not mentally prepared for the children's parents to come back to The Doctor fiddling with a pot of overflowing boiling water, God knows what she would find in the kitchen.

She creaked open the door and gave the postman a pleasant hello. "I've got a Package for the Maitlands," He sounded, holding out a clipboard.

Clara signed quickly and hauled the package inside, shaking it curiously. She knew Angie's birthday was coming up, so it was probably some sort of gift. She placed it aside on the staircase.

Clara braced herself for whatever awaited her in the kitchen, widening her eyes at the shrieks of Oli and Emily as they walked ahead of her. _It must be worse than I thought_, she realized.

Stepping into the kitchen, Clara's mouth dropped, her chocolate brown eyes widening in their sockets. The Doctor stood before a kitchen table, two places set before him with a bowl filled to the brim with spaghetti, utensils, a napkin, and a glass of crisp icy water. A plate of garlic bread sat in the center of the table, hot steam rising from it.

"How the Hell... Doctor, you're a lifesaver!" Clara exclaimed in complete disbelief, she set next the him at the table, the two kids already digging into their bowls.

"How did you make the pasta appear so fast!?' Em wondering, taking a piece of garlic bread from the plate.

"A Doctor never reveals the secrets behind his tricks!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"You mean a magician," Oli corrected him, confused. The Doctor reached a hand across the table rudely, his fingers combing themselves through Oli's short black hair playfully.

"Nope! A Doctor, definitely, I don't like it the other way."

"You're way sounds incredibly dangerous," Clara said. "I'd definitely want to know what a Doctor was going to do if I was getting surgery or something."

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I'll give you a hint, time travel, and setting 458 on the sonic screwdriver." The kid's giggled at The Doctor's oddity, and Clara's heart felt warmer seeing their overjoyed expressions. _There's nothing quite like the feeling of seeing a happy Child, _she mused internally. The Doctor appeared to be happy all the time, but Clara could always see something else deep in his ancient eyes. Darkness, sadness, and overwhelming loneliness to name a few demons that clearly resided there. Adults always had more complicated feelings with in them, but a happy child was just that. Happy. Unperturbed by the rest of the world's utter misery.

Some would call that ignorance, but Clara, she thought it was beautiful.

"How come you guys aren't eating?" Em wondered conversationally. Clara looked to The Doctor quizzically, about the ask this herself.

"Oh we can do better," he explained vaguely. "Restaurant reservations, the fanciest place in the Torfold Nebula, year 3067!"

"You're going on a date!? Awww!" Em cooed, putting down her fork and shaping a heart symbol with her hands. She was cut off by Oli's noises of disgust at her faux kissing noises.

"You never really know with him," Clara joked, while at the same time The Doctor spoke.

"That's up to Clara," He had said, flashing Clara a cute secret smile. The two stared at each other, as if they were attempting to delve into the other's mind. Clara's lips turned into an amused smile, because The Doctor flirting always proved that the word subtle barely graced his vocabulary.

A date or not a date, it didn't really matter at all to Clara. Labeling things didn't change their content, and it wasn't as if the two had never gone out to dinner before. Each time they had, it played out in a much more entertaining fashion then all the dates actually called dates she had been on.

The evening sauntered on calmly, resulting in the children finishing their food and The Doctor suggesting a game of tag in the house( A bad idea, quite obviously).

"Why don't we play outside for a bit? It's only seven, it shouldn't be too dark yet," Clara suggested as a compromise.

"Yes! Outdoor tag, much better, there's more room to run. I love running! Do you two?" The Doctor asked the kids. "Clara loves running you know, but only on Wednesdays."

Clara swung the back door open and the two kids rushed out into the back hard, their feet bare, soaking up the wet dirt carpet beneath the grass. They giggled, tagging each other back and forth, occasionally tagging Clara or The Doctor.

Their short attention spans eventually got the best of them though, and soon the two children were much more focused on a slimy pile of Earthworms they found wriggling through the soil. Clara and The Doctor now sat on the back hard steps, unperturbed by the little ones.

"Earth's sunset," The Doctor stated quietly, something rare for him. Clara redirected her gaze from the kids for just a moment, her eyes adjusting to the light radiating from the orange colored sky, pink glowing clouds blocking some beams of light.

"It's beautiful," she said. The nerves in her fingertips knew The Doctor's hand was approaching hers, and they seldom protested. The Doctor could feel her pulse speed up just through the touch of his fingertips. It was one of his favourite feelings.

"You take it for granted... The sunset of your home planet. You think, there's gotta be something better out there, millions and millions of planets with trillions of different ways to view the glorious stars they orbit. Maybe there's a sunset that glitters with happiness, or radiates deep aquamarine. But I'll tell you something, Clara Oswald, all these things... They only seem more beautiful because you're used to what you've already seen... There's nothing quite like the sunset of your own planet..."

Clara sighs, looking to The Doctor with slightly moistened eyes. "Was it beautiful?" She asked. "Your home's sunset?"

"It was," The Doctor said wistfully. His gaze redirected to the sky above them, and he thought for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again. Still is."

Clara's fingers tangled themselves through the Doctor's as she made an effort to close the gaps between them. She rested her head atop his dark purple jacket, the cloth scratching slightly at her cheek. The Doctor savored the feeling of her warmth against his cooler time lord skin. With Clara by his side and a beautiful sunset in the horizon, Earth really did feel like home.

"When's mummy coming back?" Oli complained, his little feet waddling over to the stoop Clara and The Doctor sat upon. His arms stretched themselves out as he yawned deeply.

"You tired?" Clara observed. He shook his head defiantly.

"No!," but his actions differed, plopping himself next to Clara, wrapping his little arms around the black fabric of Clara's sweater clad arm. His head rested on her shoulder sweetly, and she turned to look at the top of his soft hair. She smiled at the adorableness of it all, as did The Doctor, admiring the scene.

The Doctor loved small humans. With their eyes that had yet to see the hardships within the vast universe, and their brains yet to comprehend the vastness of it all. Someone humans never really got that far, he realized, amused.

The Doctor had traveled far and wide throughout the universe, and some days he felt as if he had seen everything, and that nothing could possibly phase or excite him any more. People tended to prove him wrong, especially the little people. The little people who opened their eyes and saw wonder in every corner and excitement under every leaf.

"Tell me a story," Oli requested, his small voice worn out from the day. "Daddy always tells me a story when it starts to get dark."

"The Doctor's great at stories," Clara said, looking towards The Doctor hopefully. "He's got many to tell."

Em looked over curiously, deciding to sit next to Oli on the stoop. Her eyes were also glazed with a feeling of fatigue, but she kept her energetic facade, looking at The Doctor intently. "Yeah Doctor, tell us a story!" She demanded, pulling on the sleeve of his jacket. He sighed compliantly.

"I've got hundreds of stories, but all of them start the same way, with the same story, do you want to hear that one?" He offered. They both nodded.

"I think they do Doctor," Clara said. The Doctor took a deep breath in and began.

"There was once a planet, up there you see? Floating around in all that black and blueness. It glowed bright red and was filled to the brim with creatures who you two look an awful like, except they obviously had much better dress sense-" He said with arrogance, grinning.

"That's debatable," Clara interjected, and The Doctor glared at her.

"No interruptions!" He requested. "On that planet, locked away in a cellar was a magnificent, beautiful, gorgeous-"

"Perfect, sexy, lovely" Clara added teasingly.

"-creature. She was perfect in every way except one, she was incredibly lonely, and was locked away alone never to be touched again. You see, this creature could see and reach all of time and space, but she had been replaced with better more adequate versions. She was obsolete, never to visit the wonders of the universe ever again."

"Like mum's computer with the super super thick screen and the dialy thing?" Em added.

The Doctor shook his head in disgust at the fact that his TARDIS was just compared with a vintage computer. "No not at all like that! Those things barely work!"

"When does the TARDIS ever work?" Clara argued, an amused smile playing across her face. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"No more interruptions! Anyways, this isn't your typical, damsel in distress, magic prince comes to save her love story! It's actually quite the opposite. Although the creature could not bring herself into time and space alone, she devised a plan, unlocking her doors so that one day, a renegade time lord could step through them and into the wonders of the world," The Doctor paused, glancing up at the sky for a moment. "That time lord, all those years ago, on that red planet, was me, of course.

The time lords were a sight to be seen. All their potential and power, which they sat on and did nothing all too amazing with. Truth is, I was bored. I had been living for hundreds of years on the same planet with the same people, doing absolutely nothing. So one day, I grabbed my granddaughter Susan, one snuck my way around to the archives in which the TARDIS capsules were held. We made our way quietly into the room where one of these creatures was being held, but then… Something peculiar happened. I heard a voice, a woman's voice. She said to pick a different TARDIS to run away in… That I would have more fun in that one… And boy, was she right. Susan and I crept inside the beautiful creature and flew away with her forever… And I thought… I thought that I had stolen her, but I realized recently that in reality… She stole me. Stole me away from that red planet and showed me countless other ones," a wistful smiles adorned The Doctor's face. "The End I guess… Although it never seems to be. That's good though. I hate endings."

"Shhh, Doctor, look," Clara said quietly, motioning to Oli and Em, snuggled together drowsily, their eyes sliding shut.

Even with the door to the house only open just a crack, the nearly asleep kids could hear the key turning in the lock, and the adults returning home. They shot up excitedly, running as fast as their sleepy legs could carry them to the front door of the house. Clara and The Doctor followed, shutting the back door behind them.

"Mummy, daddy!" The kids shouted excitedly. "We had the best time ever! The Doctor and Clara are so so so fun! There was an evil alligator and… And we set all these leaves on fire!"

"Em almost drowned in the water while catching the alligator!" Oli exclaimed, his mother patting his head.

"Wow," the kids dad said, taken aback by their enthusiasm. "I'm glad you two had a good time." He turned to Clara. "How were they?"

"Great," She said conversationally. "Very well behaved, perfect little angels, it was him who was the problem," She joked, motioning towards The Doctor.

The adults smiled, handing Clara an envelope filled with her payment for the evening. She waved Oli and Em goodbye on their way out.

"They put these things on us that made us fall asleep and then they-" Clara's ears failed to hear the rest of the sentence.

When Mr. Maitland was out of earshot, she turned to The Doctor, hands on her hips. "I can kiss goodbye babysitting them again, their parents probably think we took them on a drug trip."

"Well… We did, technically. The sleep patch I put on them is a drug… A very harmless on, obviously, but a drug nonetheless… Although maybe drug trip implies that the drug is what's causing the visions you have but the vision we all had was just a dream and all the drug did was put us in a dream state, but-" The Doctor stopped when he realized Clara was rolling her eyes at his rambling.

"Don't you have something to ask me, Doctor?" She said, raising her eyebrows, looking The Doctor in the eyes.

He thought for a moment until his eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! Yes, I do actually…Er.. Clara, do you want to go out to dinner with me? Despite the fact that it's a boring, stupid Sunday?"

"Just this Sunday," Clara replied, grinning. She caught the Doctor's hand with her own, as they walked out into the dark starlit night towards the TARDIS.

"Just this Sunday," The Doctor affirmed, and off they went, into time and space

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for sticking with this story you guys! I love you! Please review!**


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